Hebrews 5:1 “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”
In Hebrews 5:1-2, we see that one of the criteria of the Jews choosing an earthly high priest was that he had to be taken from among men. God wanted to emphasize that He chose him from among men so he would be able to identify (understand) with sinners. His ability to identify with sinners enables the high priest to have compassion on them. He also was compassed about with infirmities. We see the connection between identifying with someone (putting ourselves in their place) and having compassion on them.
Last time we looked at 4 reasons why we lose the compassion that comes from identifying with people. By way of review, we observed that…
1. We lose our compassion for people when we forget what it was like to be in a similar place.
2. We lose our compassion for people when we don’t take the time to analyze our level of connection with that person.
3. We lose our compassion for people when we lose sight of the big picture in that given relationship.
4. We lose our compassion for people when we forget what Christ has gone through to identify with us.
This time, I would like to show you 4 more reasons.
5. We lose our compassion for people when we have sin that we are not willing to deal with.
This is a haughty attitude. Consider what the Bible says about haughtiness.
Pro. 16:18 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Pro. 18:12 “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.”
Pro. 21:24 “Proud and haughty scorner is his name, who dealeth in proud wrath.”
I believe that there is a direct correlation between the insensitivity of those who are harshly judgmental and the hidden sin in their life. When a parent has to face the responsibility of disciplining sin in a child’s life, it can be a very difficult. It is very important that the parent be firm and fair without over-reacting. By over-reacting I mean such rash actions such as shunning, disowning, public humiliation, or acting to the child’s leaders like it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened. What the child needs is a parent to punish and then help them navigate through the jungle of life. When a parent over-reacts to a child’s sin in the ways I mentioned before, it is often a sign of either hidden sin in the parent’s life or intense guilt and shame at their own past.
6. We lose our compassion for people when we are inflexible.
This is the mistake of considering our schedule to be of greater importance than people. I believe in the importance of schedule. But I believe our schedule should be secondary to people. I am not saying to ignore your schedule. I am saying the less flexible we are, the less compassionate we become toward people.
7. We lose our compassion for people when we assume that we should all be the same.
Let others be different. We all have different strengths and are all at different levels.
Romans 12:“3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, …;”
When we allow others to grow at their pace, we are able to identify with them. We are able to recall times when we have been at that same stage and level of growth. And, once again, this identifying with people produces compassion within us.
8. We lose our compassion for people when we carry the emotional baggage of feeling like no one ever “identified” with us; therefore we don’t know how to love or be loved.
Christ is the only one that can heal this pain and remove this baggage. Hurting people hurt people and are easily hurt by other people. If you have been hurt in your past by someone else; if you feel like no one ever identified with you; you need to deal with your past with the Lord. Until you deal with this hurt, you will find it very difficult to be compassionate to others.
How has God used your struggles to allow you to help others? I’d love to hear from you at pastorhobbins[at]gmail[dot]com
